Top 10: Lakers rock and Rockets roll

What a difference a month can make. Not with the Lakers, of course. Kobe & Co. are still the team to beat. But here come the Rockets, without Tracy McGrady, but suddenly carrying an abundance of confidence and momentum. They’ve leapfrogged the Spurs and got themselves right back into contention.

1 – LOS ANGELES LAKERS – (Last rank: 1) – 55-14 – The Lakers seem to be treading water, waiting for the playoffs to arrive to get serious again. But of all the playoff contenders, they have the most to add when Andrew Bynum returns to the lineup and are still the team to beat in the West.

2 – CLEVELAND CAVALIERS – (Last rank: 2) – 57-13 – LeBron has kept this locomotive on track all season through injuries to his teammates in an MVP-worthy season. And don’t think that home-court advantage won’t be a significant edge if they wind up with the best record in the league.

3 – BOSTON CELTICS – (Last rank: 4) – 53-18 – They finally got KG back in the lineup. But the Celtics seem to be missing that touch of swagger that made them a juggernaut a year ago. The win in San Antonio on Friday night may have served notice that they won’t give up the crown easily.

4 – HOUSTON ROCKETS – (Last rank: 8) – 47-25 – They have continuity, they have confidence and they have a 16-4 record since Tracy McGrady shut it down for the season. Does the big win in San Antonio start off a finishing kick where they prove they can win on the road?

5 – ORLANDO MAGIC – (Last rank: 6) – 51-18 – They pick up Rafer Alston just ahead of the trade deadline and keep right on Skipping To My Lou with the big dogs at the top of the Eastern Conference race. Nobody thinks they can knock off the big two from Cleveland and Boston. Except, of course, the Magic themselves.

6 – UTAH JAZZ – (Last rank: 7) – 43-26 – Sitting way down there in the No. 7 seed, but only 2 ½ games behind the Rockets for the No. 2 spot. Every road game to finish the season – Phoenix, Portland, Denver, New Orleans, Dallas, San Antonio, Lakers – is against a team in the West race, which could make moving up difficult.

7 – SAN ANTONIO SPURS – (Last rank: 3) – 45-24 – The only thing that matters with the Spurs is being healthy and the only thing wrong with them right now is they aren’t. There’s real fretting over Manu Ginobili’s right ankle and worry about Tim Duncan’s sore knees.

8 – PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS – (Last rank: 9) – 44-26 – As bright as the future is for the young and rising Blazers, wouldn’t they like to have that 2007 draft to do over again? They’ll only be able to go so far is Greg Oden can’t find a way to spend more time on the court than in rehab.

9 – NEW ORLEANS HORNETS – (Last rank: unranked) – 44-25 – They reluctantly took Tyson Chandler back into the fold when the trade was cancelled and they’ve won three straight home games. But nobody in the West playoff race seems to be afraid of the Hornets this time around.

10 – ATLANTA HAWKS – (Last rank: unranked) – 41-29 – The Hawks are flying high at home once again, but that 14-22 road record says they’re really just pretenders. They’ll get a chance to keep the pot boiling on the home cooking with three straight against the Spurs, Celtics and Lakers.

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I have received a clarification from the NBA office on Matt Bonner’s shot at the end of Sunday’s game. It would have counted.

If the clock shows LESS than 0.3, then it can only be a tip-in or lob. It came about after a MLK Day game at Madison Square Garden in 1990 when the Knicks beat Michael Jordan’s Bulls when Trent Tucker caught an inbounds pass near the baseline, spun and put up a 3-pointer — all in an alleged 0.1 seconds — for a 109-106 win

The Trent Tucker Rule: “The game clock must show :00.3 or more in order for a player to secure possession of the ball on a rebound or throw-in to attempt a field goal.”